Army Veteran Fired When Wife Goes into Labor

Lamar Austin spent six months in Iraq in 2006 as an Ammunition Specialist. At the end of 2016, the Army veteran was working for Salerno Protective Services in Concord, New Hampshire. He had worked previously at a series of jobs, Target, Pitco, a New Hampshire based company that makes fryers for fast food businesses. He was still in his 90 day probation period at Salerno when his wife went into labor on Dec. 30. He called in to work telling them about his wife’s labor. The labor went a second day. The boss warned him that he had to come to work by 8:00 a.m. the next day, or else. When Mr. Austin did not appear for work on New Year’s Day, he was fired. They texted him that he was terminated.

His story appeared in the Concord, New Hampshire newspaper. See Concord Monitor news report. In the story, he mentioned that he would hope to find work in the electrical trades. He had had bouts of unemployment in the past. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers saw the story and offered him a job. See Task and Purpose report here about Mr. Austin. It worked out for the young Army veteran, this time. But, I wonder if the Family Medical Leave Act applied to him. if Salerno had over 50 employees, he would have been protected. But, otherwise, yes, they could have fired him for trying to take care of his wife.